How Britain’s Decision to Leave the EU can Affect Cybersecurity Market

How Britain’s Decision to Leave the EU can Affect Cybersecurity Market

June 27, 2016 | Cyber Security, Risk, Cyber Threats

As Britain faces a glaring reality of its disintegrating influence in the global arena following a shocking poll outcome which saw a majority of Britons preferring to leave the European Union, we take a quick look at how the decision could impact cybersecurity, especially in the UK.

To begin with, a uniform data protection regime in Europe might take a backseat. Currently, barring the US, data protection laws differ by countries. However, a rising number of data-breach incidents has pressed governments to look towards more uniform cybersecurity laws. For instance; the European Union has been reviewing its data-protection regulation with an aim to introduce a new set of consistent cybersecurity laws.

Unfortunately, following the Brexit, Britain and the EU might be at loggerheads over the cybersecurity laws. More worryingly, both Britain and the EU could suffer from increased number of cyberattacks as intelligence sharing will not be as effective as before after the Brexit.

Furthermore, Britain’s decision to leave the bloc might also have some major implications on cybersecurity professionals based in the UK. Indeed, SCmagazineuk.com citing Simon Crosby, CTO and founder of Bromium said that cybersecurity professionals in the UK benefitted immensely under a single market.

However, as Britain divorces from the EU, these highly technically skilled workers risks facing restrictions over working in international markets. The fallout of the referendum might not only hurt their wages, bringing down standard of living but could also drive them out of the UK.

Crosby also adds that in the long-term, Britain might also face a dearth of technical talent. At present, about a third of the university funding originates from the EU. As Britain looks to an imminent economic slowdown, resultant reduction in public finances along with the EU funding drying-up, UK universities might struggle to deliver technically advanced workers.